TuneCore has been the technology behind a service which offers the distribution of music online to music retailers including iTunes and the Amazon MP3 store. The distribution takes place through an up-front fee with no further cut taken from music sales. Now TuneCore has set their sights on film and will start distributing on iTunes beginning November 18th.

TuneCore is offering the service in beta form, but film makers can expect a fee structure of US$550 for a 60 minute film or US$770 for a 90 minute film based on volume discounts. The company states it has become the first to offer online distribution of film to stores like iTunes without a back-end distribution fee. Those signing up for the program will be able to retain all rights to their film in addition to all profits after payment of the up-front fee.

TuneCore is offering a new distribution model which skirts the traditional distribution of film to theatres nationwide or globally. It’s possible that through this model we could see some sleeper hits. If you consider some of the small up-front fees offered by TuneCore, a popular movie could make some serious dough if its popularity caught on.